Glazing



R. TOUVAY I GLAZING June 9, 1953 Filed March 27, 1945 Patented June 9, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFlCE Robert Touvay, Paris, France, assignor to Societe Anonyme des Manufactures'des Glaces & Produits Chimiques de Saint-Gobain, Paris, France Application March 27, 1945, Serial No. 585,175

In France April 18, .1944

4 Claims. 1

For maintaining glass sheets or plates used as glazings, especially, for Windshields, panes for motorcars or other vehicles, and namely in the case of moveable glazings where the windows have to be uided .or displaced, sashes or frames are commonly used provided with grooves in which the edge of the sheet penetrates; such frames cover the rim of the sheet on both its faces along its perimeter. Such frames have the inconveniences to increase the weight of the vehicles and to impose constraints particularly in respect to the construction and to the field of visibility.

As a remedy to these drawbacks, the object of the present invention is to provide a method for setting the glass sheets or plates without using any grooved member.

The method according to the present invention consists in maintaining the glazing by means of elements, in particular metal elements, which are soldered to the sheet and constitute appendices or extensions forming integral parts of the glazing and connected to the structure surrounding the glazed opening by means of mechanical gripping, driving or connecting means.

In that way, the invention enables to provide maintaining devices which do not overlap either one nor both faces. Moreover, the maintaining devices may be such that they will not project outside of the plane of either one or both faces of the sheet and consequently are entirely contained between these two planes.

To carry out the soldering, the part of the glass surface on which the appendix is to be fixed may be previously metallized, for instance, by projecting pulverized molten aluminium; such metallized surface may then eventually be coppered and the final soldering takes place for instance by a tin lead solder.

A particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention, .consists in using appendices wholly made of lead. Lead is easy to unite to the glass either directly, as by sealing or with interposition of a solder. It can even be cast on portions of the glass sheet which have been previously metallized or not thus obtaining simultaneously the formation of the appendix and its soldering. On accountr of the sound and vibration damping properties of lead, the appendices made of said metal prevent the vibrations of the structure surrounding the glazing from being transmitted to said glazing to such extent as to become dangerous for the glazing.

The invention may .be carried out for instance with .a heat resisting glass, such as tempered glass or a glass having a low expansion coefiicient and able to sufficiently resist to the heating operation required either for soldering or for metallization.

The. several features of the invention and its advantages will clearly appear from the embodiments described as examples in the accompanying drawing in which:

Figs. '1, 2, .3 and 4 are partial schematical perspective views, showing several embodiments of the invention.

Figs. 5 and 6 are sectional views showing the connection of the appendix with the structure surrounding the opening.

Fig. 7 illustrates a windshield provided with its appendices before being set, while Fig. 8 is a perspective view of such windshield set in the vehicle.

Figs. 9, 10, ll relate to the application of the invention in the case of bent glazing; Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the vehicle.

Fig. 10 is a partial perspective view of the glazing before its setting and Fig. 11 shows the method for assembling said glazing to the structure of the vehicle.

Figure 12 is an enlarged detail showing the several layers used in uniting the parts when the soldering is effected by depositing a copper layer on a metallized surface to which the solder is applied to secure the arrangements shown in Figure 10.

In all those figures, the glass sheet is represented by i, the appendix or soldered element by '2, and the structure surrounding the glazing by 3.

In Fig. l the appendix 2:; is soldered to one of the faces of the sheet I (the upper face in the given example), the other face being entirely free.

In Fig. 2, appendix 2b is soldered to the edge of the glass sheet i, thus leaving both faces of the sheet entirely free. When the element 2 is given the same thickness as the glass sheet, the resulting appendix constitutes a prolongation of the sheet in its own plane, and consequently it-is possible to pile up, in contact with each other, the glass sheets provided with their appendices.

In Fig. 3, a notch =4 is provided in the edge of the sheet, constituting an indentation into which the soldered element 20 is fitted. Thus the appendix is practically rabbeted into the glass sheet and consequently the assemblage is very strong,

though the soldering takes place only on the restricted surface constituted by the edge of the sheet.

In Fig. 4 the appendix lb located in the notch 4 is entirely included inside said notch, so that it does not at all project in the plane of the sheet nor on the periphery of the sheet. Therefore it is possible to obtain sheets which, bein equipped according to the invention, may be stored and handled just as ordinary glass sheets.

in ,Fig. 5, the appendix 2esoldered to the edge of the sheet l has a terminal part (5 which fits into the corresponding part '1 of the surrounding structure 3, the assemblage being made by means of bolts :3, nuts M. and washers 82). As illustrated in this figure, in this way the face 9 of the glass sheet may be exactly located in the prolongation of the face 10 of the surrounding structure, without any prominent part. Thus a smooth continuous surface may be obtained, which is particularly advantageous namely for stream line purposes.

In Fig. 6, the appendix 2f is assembled with the surrounding structure 3 by means of an intermediary member ll, having its end I2 embedded in the appendix 2. This arrangement is particularly advantageous in the case of an appendix made of lead, as in said case it is easy to embed the member ll into the lead at the time when the latter is cast on the glass sheet. On the other hand, instead of joining the lead appendix 2 f with the structure 3, the assemblage to the surrounding structure may be made by the intermediary of the member I I which may be of a more resistant metal and consequently can stand a strong clasping and even a riveting 13.

Fig. 7 shows the windshield such as it is supplied to the car constructor ready to be fitted. At its upper part it is provided with two appendices Zg to be mounted in hinges born by the body of the vehicle.

At its lower part the windshield has an appendix 271. to which is assembled the handle carried by the vehicle structure and used for varying the inclination of the windshield which oscillates around the hinges of its upper part.

Fig. 8 illustrates a portion I6 of the body of a vehicle provided with such a windshield I. The aperture I! left for visibility may have the size of the whole glazing, i. e. the driver has the benefit of the total available visibility of the glazing, except for the three notches I 4 and I which might even be dispensed with if the arrangement according -to Fig. 2 is used.

Fig. 9 shows a fragment 18 of a vehicle body such as, for instance, a railway carriage or a hull of an airplane, with bent glazings l. While the usual fastening methods require frames with grooves, i. e. a metal part, the manufacture of which is complicated on account of its bent shape, the glazing made according to the present invention enables an easy construction.

As represented on Fig. 10, it is possible to solder on the edge of and all around the glass sheet I a continuous profiled metallic part 21', for instance of lead, constituting both a fastening member and a tightening member between the glass sheet I and the structure 3.

Fig. 11 shows the method for such assemblage.

As before stated, the appendix or appendices may be united directly to the glass or, as shown in Figure 12, may be united therewith by first depositing on the glass a layer of molten aluminum 20 and depositing thereon a layer of copper 20a and then solder 20b.

The surrounding structure 3 is composed of two iron sheets 3a and 3b and the continuous appendix 212 is fastened on these sheets with the interposition of the counter plate l9. As shown on said figure, the outside of the vehicle may be constituted as a continuous surface practically without any ridge or projection which would have prevented the air from sliding along the walls, said surface having any desired bent profile.

This last example chiefly refers to the case of a glazing which does not move in respect to the body of the vehicle. It is obvious that the invention may be used in all cases, whether the glazing is moveable or stationary in relation to the surrounding structure and may be used also .for

buildings, light construction, barracks, bungalows etc., in which it brings all the advantages of simplicity, strength, clearness, tightness, aesthetics, etc., as above stated in the case of vehicles.

It must also be understood that the invention is not limited to the case of appendices located on the edge of the sheet, but it also includes the case of elements soldered on portions of the sheet inside its perimeter, either when said elements are used to properly maintain the glass sheet itself, or else when, on the contrary, other members are to be maintained by the sheet itself, as for instance, antifrost devices, glass wipers, and other subsidiary members. The appendices may also be fixed in holes provided in the glass sheet.

What I claim is:

1. In a structural unit, the combination of a supporting frame provided with an opening of predetermined dimensions and area, a full vision transparent pane of glass shaped to dimensions and area to coincide with and fit in said opening with the opposing surfaces of said pane unobscured by said supporting frame thereby maintaining the transparent pane of glass free for total visibility, a connector affixed to the edge portion only of the pane without deformation thereof and lying within the plane of the opposite surfaces of the pane and extending outwardly therefrom for engagement with the supporting frame and means for maintaining engagement of the connector and the supporting frame.

2. A window adapted for use in vehicles having stream-lined bodies comprising a transparent pane of glass fitting in an opening provided in the body and flush with the outer surface of the body, said pane having edges dimensioned closely to fit and lie within the opening in said body, a metallic connector affixed to the edge portion only of the pane without deformation thereof and lying within the plane of the opposite surfaces of the pane and extending outwardly therefrom for engagement with the body and. retaining means cooperating only with the extension and to the exclusion of the pane adapted to hold the pane in place.

. 3. The invention defined in claim 1 wherein the edge portion of the sheet contiguous to the connector carries a film of aluminum and a superposed film of copper to which the connector is soldered.

4. The invention defined in claim 2 wherein the edge portion of the sheet contiguous to the connector carries a film of aluminum and a superposed film of copper to which the connector is soldered.

ROBERT TOUVAY.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

